Huawei Responds To Allegation That It Sought For Fake Mate 10 Pro Reviews On Best Buy

One of Huawei‘s best smartphones presently going by several genuine reviews is the Mate 10 Pro. The device not only comes with a spectacular design but also with a powerful specs lineup, including the AI-capable Kirin 970 chipset. Huawei recently launched the Mate 10 Pro in the U.S at CES 2018 but the device is not yet available to buy. The company recently kickstarted a beta testers programme for the device and that is the source of controversy presently rocking the company and its flagship.

According to an observation by 9to5Google, Huawei recruited people to write “fake” Mate 10 Pro reviews on Best Buy. Funny enough, the Mate 10 Pro doesn’t need a fake review when there are countless genuine reviews all over the net ranking the device high. That is as blunt as it can get but the fact is that the company recently launched a contest on its Facebook page where it asked participants to drop a comment on the Mate 10 Pro’s page on Best Buy stating why they want the Mate 10 Pro. The contest will see the winners get the chance to test the Mate 10 Pro, that is in the U.S. Apparently wanting to impress, most of the 108 respondents left glowing comments about the Mate 10 Pro which are supposed to be reviewed. Almost all of the reviews gave the Huawei flagship a solid 5-star rating with some allegedly branding the device as the “unbeatable smartphone of the year,” a “great new flagship phone,” and even a device that “puts Samsung to shame.” The thing is, the Mate 10 Pro is still on preorder and is yet to go on sale in the U.S. So, there is absolutely no way the respondents would have used the device in order to rationally review it except those residing outside the U.S.

Huawei has responded to the allegations that it sponsored the “fake reviews”, releasing a statement to clear the misconception. Hre is the official statement; “Huawei’s first priority is always the consumer and we encourage our customers to share their experiences with our devices in their own voice and through authentic conversation. We believe there is confusion around a recent social media post reaching out to recruit new beta testers. While there are reviews from beta testers with extensive knowledge of the product, they were in no way given monetary benefits for providing their honest opinions of the product. However, we are working to remove posts by beta testers where it isn’t disclosed they participated in the review program.”

This statement sounds logical but could be a way out of the negative publicity this would generate especially in a market where marketing and promotional tactics are expected to be based on facts and not hype. Huawei could do this in China and get away with it. We see it done by many OEMs on retail platforms and they get away with it. The move could also be a genuine but deceitful means of convincing more people to buy the Mate 10 Pro in the U.S. Huawei failed in its bid to sell the device via the two biggest carriers in the U.S where smartphone sales are usually tied to carriers. Since that move failed for political reasons bordering on U.S-China relationship, this could be a subtle way of selling the device on Best Buy. Huawei denies that was its intention and we’ll leave it at that because the Mate 10 Pro doesn’t need a fake review. The device has lots of positive reviews that places it above most of the flagship models in its class. You can check out our review of the Mate 10 Pro where it was given a 4.5-star rating.